“We hope that these facts will not be left without proper
reaction on the part of the international community, including
the UN General Secretary’s Special Representative for Children
and Armed Conflict,” Konstantin Dolgov noted in a statement
published on the Foreign Ministry’s website.

Special representative Leila Zerrougui has just completed her
visit to war-torn Syria and said on Monday that she was
“overwhelmed” by the suffering of children there. Among
other crimes, she mentioned that some groups were arming
teenagers and using them in fighting.

The military conflict between the military loyal to President
Bashar Assad and the assembled force of armed opposition,
including militant Islamists and Al-Qaeda has continued since
2011, with an estimated death toll exceeding 100,000 people.

Russia promotes political dialogue on condition of ceasefire and
criticizes the Western countries for their support of the
opposition fighters. The United States has granted political
support to the rebels since the start of the conflict, followed
by direct military aid that, however, excluded weapons.

This week, however, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees
have approved the CIA program to send weapons to Syrian rebels,
allowing the Obama administration to continue the pre-planned but
stalled program.

Also this week, one of the members of Assad’s government visited
Moscow and told reporters that Russia would continue supplying
weapons to the Syrian army, including the modern S-300
anti-aircraft systems that could become a serious deterrent if
foreign nations try to impose a blockade of Syrian airspace.